By Charlotte Webster-
Half a million Brits on Universal Credit will be forced to apply for more jobs or risk a cut to their benefits.
Ministers will tomorrow launch a fresh push to get more people into work as households brace for a cost of living crisis.
With unemployment still at record lows, vacancies across the countries have increased , with an estimated 1.2million jobs up for grabs – 59 per cent higher than before the pandemic.
Ministers are planning to arrange more face to face meetings with coaches and ordinary brits on university credit, with a view to understanding all the efforts being made and challenges they face.
Britain is one of the most generous and thoughtful countries in the world when it comes to supporting its citizens. Britain has a long history of supporting its citizens who are making efforts to find work, and citizens making no effort also benefit from state benefits in the Uk, highlighting some of the weaknesses of the system.
The Uk government is poised to increase its financial support to those on benefit in the coming weeks. Low income Brits are expected to be hit hardest with the rising cost of energy bills and taxes come April.
Ministers will announce major plans tomorrow to change the rules to toughen up the rules around searching for work, to help more people secure a job.
A DWP source said: “Now vaccines have freed us from Plan B we’re upping the ante on filling vacancies, with record numbers of jobs available in key sectors vital to our national recovery.
“We’re using the strength of our jobs market to tackle supply challenges and get employers the people they and the economy need.
“Under new plans, jobseekers will be supported to find any job in any sector within weeks not months, putting them on the path to better jobs and progression in a career.”
The PM hinted at the plan in the House of Commons this afternoon, telling MPs: “We’re launching a plan tomorrow, Mr Speaker, to get half a million people off welfare and into work – it’s a fantastic idea.”
As part of a so-called ‘claimant commitment’ many Brits on Universal Credit already have to look for a job – or face sanctions.
At the moment most people usually get around three months to search for a new role within the industry or career they are already in.
Millions of people on benefits and searching for work will be made to apply for more jobs outside their fields – or they could risk having their benefits docked.